Nikki Haley Speaks Out on Allegations

We The People Aiken

Last night I attended a meeting of a local tea party group called "We the People Aiken."It was an interesting evening and I learned more about the South Carolina Club for Growth and its mission. We the People Aiken played a very active and significant role in the defeat of the school bond referendum bond . Now they have turned their interest towards the transparency issue that has been steadfastly  opposed by the leaders of the SC House and Senate. The following message from Keith Bashant was received today and I encourage readers to do as he suggests. We must be able to track our representatives votes!

Folks:  Regardless of political philosophy, here's your chance to advocate one sound government REFORM that benefits all SC residents.  H3047 requires Senate votes be recorded in writing so constituents can see how their Senators are voting.  This bill is about transparency and accountability!  Constituent pressure got Senators to pull H3047 out of committee.  However, on the vote to pull the bill out of committee, Senator Greg Ryberg did not vote and Senator Shane Massey voted "Nay".  So, Senator Massey voted against transparency and accountability!  Now that H3047 is out of committee; we need the bill voted on...on the floor and passed ASAP.  Please firmly but politely let your Senator know you expect him to fight hard to get H3047 to the Senate floor for a vote and then you expect him to vote for this important reform bill so it passes in the Senate before the Legislative session ends.  This bill is about real REFORM in Columbia...and the entrenched GOP-good ol boys are resisting change.  We WILL REMEMBER who stood in the way of transparency in 2012.  Below, the "AYES" are the good guys...and the "NAYS" are the bad guys who tried to keep the bill bottled up in the Senate committee:     

AYES:  Alexander, Bright, Bryant, Cleary, Courson, Cromer, Davis, Shane Martin, McGill, Mulvaney, O’Dell, Peeler, Rose, Setzler, Shoopman

NAYS (voting against H3047 and against transparency):  Campsen, Elliott, Grooms, Knotts, Lourie, Malloy, Larry Martin, Massey, McConnell, Nicholson, Reese, Scott, Verdin

HERE'S what you can do to help motivateyour Senator to PASS this key bill: 

  Contact Senator Ryberg @ GregRyberg@scsenate.gov or http://www.scstatehouse.gov/members/bios/1615908897.html

  Contact Senator Massey @ http://www.scstatehouse.gov/members/bios/1185227131.html

  Contact any other Senator @  http://www.scstatehouse.gov/html-pages/senatemembers.html

Thank you. Keith

Letters and Ad for Nikki Haley

The Aiken Standard today published four letters of support for Nikki Haley including the one I submitted a few days ago. For those of you who may not read the Aiken Standard the links to the letters appear below and they are followed by the latest TV ad which is also available on her site www.nikkihaley.com.Please help her campaign by making a contribution.We must not let the good old boys win by foul play. The Republican Primary will take place on June 8. Let our collective voice be heard. We need fresh faces at all levels.

http://www.aikenstandard.com/Letters/0527-sorensen-letter

http://www.aikenstandard.com/Letters/0527-smith-letter

 

http://www.aikenstandard.com/Letters/0527-doremus-letter

http://www.aikenstandard.com/Letters/0526-taylor-letter

Breaking News from Nikki Haley Campaign Headquarters

  

Nikki Takes 20 Point Lead

Friends,

Last week, I reached out with the news that Nikki had taken a double-digit lead in the polls.  Well, today we have even better news – another independent poll  shows that lead has grown to more than 20 points! 

Here are the results:

Nikki Haley - 39%

Henry McMaster - 18%

Gresham Barrett - 16%

Andre Bauer - 13%

We’ve also released our new tv ad, “Possible,” which started running statewide this morning.  The people of this state are rising up against the status quo, the momentum is on our side, and this ad seeks to capture the same energy and excitement that has helped to catapult Nikki to the top of the polls.  Watch it here.   

This campaign has always been about the people, always been about building a movement from the ground up. That movement is taking off, and it’s thanks to each and every one of you. 

We have a huge lead, and with that lead comes an equally huge target.  The determined efforts to make this campaign about anything and everything other than our fight to bring South Carolina government back to the people are already going on.  That’s no surprise.  But we will keep fighting, and ask that you join us.  Your contributions  mean more now than they ever have before. 

My very best,

Tim Pearson

Campaign Manager

 P.S. - Don't forget - we need you to get Nikki's message out.  So contribute, volunteer, put a bumper sticker on your car and a yard sign in your yard, and check out our store for all of your Nikki Haley gear.

Nikki Haley under Attack

It comes as no surprise that Nikki Haley is being attacked. She jumped into the lead in the race and the good old boys do what they gotta do to stay in power or gain even more. I sent the following letter to the Aiken Standard today but they may not be able to print it for a few days.I believe it is essential to get the story out so here is an advance copy. 

Letter to the Editor

Aiken Standard

Sunday in Aiken was a great time for gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley. There was an afternoon picnic-style reception at the Gem Lakes Pavilion, and as usual by the time she departed for home with her loving and supportive husband Michael and their sweet 11 year old daughter she left behind a thoroughly convinced group of new supporters. This is no surprise! It happens every time she meets with a group.

I was preparing to write a letter to the Aiken Standard about the event which had also been well covered by the Aiken Standard and Channel 6 of Augusta when I received news of a scurrilous and I might add spurious claim that Nikki had a “relationship” with an infamous blogger and political operative by name of Will Folks (also called “sic Willie”).  Folks’ blogsite presents an artful piece that makes him sound like a hero confessing his sins, but in fact he is just another hack who will do anything to survive in his dog eat dog profession. He really is a sick Willie.

Will Folks is a just another player in the cohort of political operatives, good old boys and Statehouse leaders who have dominated South Carolina politics for many years. In the beginning they felt confident that the relatively unknown Nikki Haley was no threat to one of their own being elected.  When the most recent poll placed her well ahead of her opponents, they concocted a scheme to bring her down. According to Folks’ website, he “conducted” an interview a week earlier with AP reporter Jim Davenport who he knew would gleefully spread the tale while Folks himself “has no control over the release of the information.”  Now that Folks has dropped his bombshell, his wife announced he will not be available for further interviews – or to provide proof or answer questions.  

It should be noted that quickly after the blast email from Folks blogsite, Nikki Haley issued a clear response in her usual straightforward manner as follows:

"I have been 100% faithful to my husband throughout our 13 years of marriage.  This claim against me is categorically and totally false.  It is sad, but not surprising, that this disgraceful smear has taken form less than a week removed from the release of a poll showing our campaign with a significant lead.  It is quite simply South Carolina politics at its worst.

“These attacks - and those sure to follow - are an effort at distraction, but I will keep my focus on what matters, and that is delivering South Carolina's government back to our people.  That’s a fight I have fought for the last five years.  That’s why I entered this race for Governor.  And that’s what I will continue to do, despite any outrageous and false claims that are thrown at me."

Gutter politics threaten our government at every level and as I have said previously, career politicians are a big part of the problem. The longer they stay in office the bigger their campaign war chests.  They and their operatives will say or do whatever it takes to stay in power. Unscrupulous bloggers and a biased media fuel their fires.  We desperately need new faces and fresh thinking in government.  Nikki Haley has already proven that she is not simply a pawn of the political establishment, and that she has the brains, integrity and backbone to stand up for the people of our state as its Governor.  Please vote for her in the primary on June 8 and the runoff on June 22 to help bring the kind of reform we need in South Carolina.

Dick Smith

City Council Update from Dick Dewar

LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX [LOST III] COMMISSION: The joint commission authorized by Aiken County Council held its organizational meeting on Monday, May 10, 2010, and began their review of projects submitted by the City of Aiken, Aiken County, City of North Augusta, and the smaller communities in Aiken County on Monday, May 17, 2010. The City of North Augusta representative is Eddie Butler, who was elected the Commission’s Chair. Aiken County representatives are Mark Gibson, who was elected Vice Chair, Jimmy Winkler, and Randy Morgan. Nora Sanders of the Lower Savannah Council of Governments [LSCOG] represents Aiken County’s smaller communities, and Wade Brodie is the City of Aiken Commissioner. We will continue to monitor the process of developing the LOST III capital project list for the November ballot. Aiken County Council should conduct a final vote on the ballot list this summer.

WORK SESSION – PRESENTATION BY COUNCIL ON AGING – 6:30 P.M. – Scott Murphy, Director of the Council on Aging, would like to discuss with City Council several financial concerns that they are facing with cut backs from the federal, state and local entities. They are concerned about several programs that they currently operate and would like to share these concerns with Council. They understand that City Council has not directly funded non­profits in the past. However, they would like Council to understand their concerns and to see what, if anything, can be done to help the seniors in our community, both now and in the future. According to Mr. Murphy’s letter, demand for services, which include meals served and meals delivered, is increasing while funding from the United Way Agency has decreased by 58% ($72,900). Funding has also decreased from the State of South Carolina and from the Lower Savannah Council of Governments. Last year the Council of Aging provided transportation of 9,759 seniors for 63,052 trips totaling 451,101 miles for nutritional assistance, medical, shopping, employment, and social activities. Without additional funding they face the terrible task of reducing services to some of the most needy in our community. Please consider a private donation to the Council on Aging of Aiken, 159 Morgan Street NW, Aiken, SC 29801.

APPROVAL OF STORMWATER WORK AT WHITNEY POLO FIELD: At our last Council meeting we discussed the stormwater maintenance that is required at the Whitney Polo fields. The homes along Knox Avenue and the area surrounding the polo field flood during heavy rain events. The stormwater is flowing from the polo fields and other areas into the back of the lots as well as from the Knox Avenue area. We recently received drawings from the Whitney Trust showing the original design of the drainage system for the track and the field. The design utilized two ditches, one on the inside of the track which was a few feet deep, and then a much larger ditch outside the track which was over six feet in depth in many areas. These ditches have silted in with sediment over the last several decades. Trees and shrubs have also grown up in these areas. To restore them to their original design will require heavy clearing and cleaning.
The City of Aiken intends to use individuals from our Stormwater Division for the majority of this work. They will clear the vegetation in these areas, and then clean out both of these ditches. By deepening these ditches they will then act as mini-detention areas and allow the water to percolate into the existing soil. If we cannot find the original piping we will install new pipes to allow access to the field in several areas. We estimate the work to take approximately five weeks utilizing a four man crew. The cost of our labor and equipment is estimated to be approximately $76,500. Except for the stormwater pipe and hiring someone to remove large trees, the funds are already in our Stormwater Division. The only additional cost is for the pipe and tree removal which would be no more than $5,000.
Prior to starting this work, Ben Moore will execute an agreement with the Whitney Trustees, which will allow us to work on this property and restore any railing which may be damaged while performing this maintenance.
A meeting with the Whitney Trustees has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 26, 2010, at 7 P.M. in the Council Chambers to discuss possible ways to preserve this property.

APPROVAL OF BUS SHELTERS: At the April 26, 2010 meeting City Council approved a grant to obtain two bus shelters, one for Aiken Regional Hospital and the other on South Carolina 19 near Hahn Village. The Lower Savannah Council of Governments will receive a grant from the Federal Transit Authority to purchase these shelters.
We have looked at the various bus shelters available, and we have selected two examples for Council's consideration. We would prefer the peaked roof design over the barrel. The Lower Savannah Council of Governments states the attached designs are examples only since the bids will be placed with companies to secure the exact product. Once the bids have been received the shelters will be delivered to the actual site at which point our Public Works crews will install the shelters on a concrete slab.
For City Council's consideration, this is approval of either the peaked roof design or barrel roof for bus shelters at Hahn Village and the hospital.

APPROVAL OF PUBLIC SAFETY GRANT: The Public Safety Department has been notified by the United States Department of Justice that we are eligible for a $16,185 grant from the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program. This is a 100% grant and no matching funds are required. The Department would use these funds to replace four obsolete VHS in-car video cameras with new DVD camera systems. With these four additional units and what is currently in the budget, we believe all the Public Safety vehicles would then be equipped with DVD cameras.

SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO SET THE MILLAGE RATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010-2011: Every year City Council adopts a budget for the following year and also a separate ordinance that establishes the millage rate to meet the budget needs. Two years ago the millage rate changed from 71 mills to 66 mills. This year by maintaining the millage rate at 66 mills you will have experienced 22 consecutive fiscal years without a millage rate increase. Over that period of time we have actually reduced the millage rate on 5 separate occasions from 120 mills to the current 66 mills or a 45% decrease. This is in spite of recent revenue losses during tough economic times and the loss of revenue from reduced telecommunications and vehicle taxes amounting to well over $1 million every year. We are happy to have been able to control raising taxes, and we contribute the success to the careful stewardship of these funds by Council and staff alike.

SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010-2011: For the past couple of years we have been facing difficult economic times within our community, state and nation. Although the City of Aiken has weathered most of the problems, we still find that our building permits, state funding, vehicle taxes and interest will be well short of our peak in 2007. Next fiscal year we project that we will continue to fall short of the revenues that we received two years ago by 55% for building permits, 35% for state revenue, 85% for interest earned on investments, and 15% on vehicle taxes. This amounts to a $150,000 loss for building permits, $240,000 reduction from the State, and a $380,000 loss in interest earned on investments. Altogether our revenues and expenditures will shrink by 1% from the budget two years ago.
Last year we cut or suspended several items that we would normally purchase and many of these are in this year's budget. We have increased our capital purchases by $500,000 in comparison to last year, primarily consisting of 13 new police vehicles, 25 new self-contained breathing apparatus for our Fire Department, new solid waste equipment, an aerial truck, and security cameras and equipment at our recreational sites. This year we have fully funded the vast majority of our Depreciation Accounts, except for Building Depreciation which amounts to approximately $150,000 per year.
The budget reflects a new Community Policing Grant for four positions, three of which were frozen last year. We still have 5 other positions in other departments that are frozen this year which will not be filled until the economy dramatically improves.
Even with the difficult economy we are seeing increases in our personal property tax from new homes and business, and we anticipate an increase of over $300,000 from what we received two years ago. Although building permits have been down the last two years, we are starting to see a rebound and expect a slight growth in new housing next year.
The budget includes a small payroll increase of 1% for all full and part-time employees. The increase would be provided only if we have a sufficient surplus from this year's budget. This past February we enacted a 5% increase for our employees to pay for health insurance, and we will continue to monitor this during the next fiscal year to determine if any additional increases are necessary to maintain our health costs.
Last year City Council asked us to add major security at our H. O. Weeks and Smith-Hazel recreational centers. We are finalizing the plans for the security equipment and have funded the equipment and two part-time employees for security at these locations during evenings and weekends.
We have not removed funding within the budget for any of the agencies that we have supported in the past. This includes the Library for $12,000, ADDA $60,000, Lower Savannah Council of Governments (Best Friend Express) $15,000, Economic Development Partnership $10,000, and from the Victims Services budget $9,000 for the Child Advocacy Center and $9,000 for the Cumbee Center.
We are also providing $6,000 from our Accommodations taxes for the Center for the Arts to help provide assistance for public restrooms at their facilities. The budget also includes funding to continue the facade grant program, road network studies for the Northside, Dougherty Road, and SC 19; and post retirement health benefits of $225,000.
From the Local Option Sales Tax we have included funding for several water and sewer rehabilitation projects, mobile bleachers, capping of the former landfill, reducing stormwater in Hitchcock Woods, Northside road studies, Citizens Park walking trail, and restrooms, street resurfacing, and Whiskey Road sidewalks.
We prepared the budget to try to meet the short term and long term goals that Council approved from our Horizons Retreat. Within the General Fund there are no tax increases for the 22nd year and no other increased fees are proposed.

Aiken County School Bond Referendum

There have been many letters published in the Aiken Standard for and against the achool bond over the past month. The Aiken Standard has vigorously supported the bond editorially but are to be complimented for the fairness displayed in publishing letters pro and con.On May 19 the paper published a good letter from Keith Bashant who opposes the bond issue. Keith had previously submitted a  very good but also very long letter that had to be reduced drastically to make it publishable.I thought the original letter was a very strong passionate heartfelt plea from  a man who has volunteered much of his time to improve the lot of many school children.

With his permission his original letter follows:

Create Educated Children – Not Buildings!

Education is the key to success.  Needed are RESULTS.  Aiken County School District’s $236 million building bond will spend a fortune, but won’t improve dismal academic performance.  My parents had high school diplomas, lived in an economically depressed small town, worked hard for low wages, valued education, taught personal responsibility, and honored God.  Their humble lives and example produced a high school valedictorian who became a U.S. Air Force officer.  For 24 years, I competed successfully against top-notch people from every state in America; and, together, we forged the world’s greatest air force.  Education, not facilities, made the difference in my life.  Now, for over five years, I’ve volunteered four days a week to tutor Aiken County public school boys in grades 3-5 at an after-school program.  I’ve had up to 12 boys in a 120 square foot room without air conditioning, chalkboards, and good lighting.  The least of my problems was the facility.  My boys lacked basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.  Yet, their public school facility is far superior to my old public school.  The real determinants of a child’s education are behavior, discipline, attitude, respect for authority, teacher skills, and parental involvement.  District administrators argue nice facilities mean “caring for the children.”  I’ll argue preparing children for life means “caring for the children.”  The District’s education system has failed to teach my boys the basic skills needed to read and understand the directions and questions in their daily homework assignments.  These boys need an education system that focuses on the real obstacles to their learning, not on buildings.  I’ll vote "No" on the May 25th bond referendum…to put the education of my boys first.

1.  Not putting children first means administrators pour money into facilities based on District wants, not teacher needs.  The 2009 Annual School Report Cards reveal that 86% of the teachers at the affected schools told the SC Dept. of Education they were "satisfied with the social and physical environment" and were “satisfied with the learning environment.”  Teachers know facilities don’t prevent Johnny from learning. 

2.  Not putting children first means opposing free market competition to cut education waste, drive innovative solutions, and produce the best value per education dollar spent.  The District has a near monopoly:  91% of all K-12 students are in public schools.  Unlike the District, I support fierce competition in education:  school choice, school vouchers, school tax credits, charter schools, magnet schools, and home-schooling that give children enhanced education options.  The District needs to fight for a child-centered education model, and not an administratively bloated, under-performing public school system. 

3.  Not putting children first justifies moving two middle schools (Jackson and New Ellenton) from small towns to a remote campus that will discourage parental involvement vital to student success.  Parents of at-risk children often have serious transportation challenges.

4.  Not putting children first appeared in the last Federal assessment in which Aiken County data was available:  Class of 2005.  This assessment showed only 52% of Aiken County’s public school freshmen graduated 4 years later.  While the SC graduation rate was 56%, the national rate was 71%.  Sadly, because most states under-report their dropout rates, the national analysts developed a uniform system to determine accurate graduation rates:  SC ranked 47th. 

5.  Not putting children first means adopting low standards.  SC uses the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) to assess student performance.  The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) has conducted 24 million assessments on student proficiency nationwide over a 33-year period.  NWEA placed the PASS test standards in the bottom quartile [25%] when compared to proficiency standards in 27 states.  Low standards and low expectations condemn children to lifetimes of under-achievement.

6.  Not putting children first means waste and misdirected priorities.  For the current school year, the cost of an Aiken public school student was $8,857 which was $2,070 (30%) more than the cost of an Aiken private school student.  Reducing each public student’s cost to the private student’s cost would cut County expenses $54 million a year.  The private school’s standardized test scores are in the top 10% of the nation.

7.  Putting the District first means not fairly sharing the County’s burden in austere times.  The District’s FY 2008 total expenditures were $236,020,784; FY 2009 were $233,346,315; and FY 2010 were $230,779,026.  So, the District cut its budget by a paltry 1% in FY 2009 and 1% in FY 2010.

8.  Putting the District first means demanding more taxes from distressed families and businesses during a prolonged, economic slump.  The County’s unemployment rate is 10.2%, under-employment is rampant, businesses have folded, and others are in survival mode.  Yet, to meet District “needs,” homeowner property taxes must jump 4% ($118 per $100,000) and business property taxes 6% ($174 per $100,000).  These taxes eat further into disposable incomes and slow the economic recovery.  The $862 billion federal stimulus also diverted private sector dollars to public sector projects; and, over the last 15 months, the national unemployment rate rose from 7.6% to today’s 9.9%.  This County needs a vibrant private sector to create jobs and prosperity. 

The District can start caring about my boys by implementing reforms that improve THEIR academic performance:  First, create a child-centered education model that aggressively promotes behaviors of successful students and advocates school choice options.  Second, set high standards that challenge children and school staff to perform at their best.  Third, slash administrative costs and shift savings into the classroom to secure top-performing teachers.  Finally, make parent and community involvement in local school decisions a high priority.  Stop excusing poor academic performance on national metrics; start focusing on the major problems that prevent learning; and put money into reforms that actually improve education performance.  The lives of my boys depend upon basic education skills, not on buildings and a football complex.  On May 25, I’ll vote “No”…because I care about the lives of my boys!

Keith Bashant

Aiken, SC

803-502-0994 

DICK’S PICKS FOR THE JUNE 8 PRIMARY

The Republican Primary is on June 8 and there are many candidates on the ballot. Many of you have asked for my recommendations on the various candidates. I am flattered that you think I have so much political knowledge. The truth is I don’t. However, I am fortunate to have several friends and advisers who pay close attention to the political arena. The following list has been informed by their input but in the end they are my thoughts and I accept full responsibility for them. These friends are also contributors to the www.aikenjournal.org  and the www.Octogenarianonline.com.

GOVERNOR- Nikki Haley is a relative new comer to politics with less than 6 years in the Statehouse. She is definitely not just another “good old boy”. She has proven herself to be a fiscal conservative and a champion for transparency in government.

LT. GOVERNOR- There are two good candidates. Ken Ard and Bill Connor. Ken was first elected to the Florence County Council in 2004. He is a fiscal conservative and supports transparency in government and term limits. Bill Connor is a retired Army officer who has served in Afghanistan. Based on their platforms either one would work well with Nikki Haley. Both support Nikki’s view that the Governor and Lt. Governor should run as a team.

     STATE TREASURER- Curtis Loftis is strongly recommended. This is the second most important position to be filled in this election cycle. Deedee Vaughters has written about the Budget and Control Board that seriously impinges on the power of the Governor to manage the States finances. In an op-ed column last December Deedee said the following:  

            

The show is our state and the agency running it is The Budget and Control Board with the help of the South Carolina Legislature. The Budget and Control Board is a government agency created in 1950 and unique to the state of South Carolina. The website for the Budget and Control Board states that its single mission is "to make government better for the people of South Carolina." Why then with only one mission does this board fall so short of its goal and in fact have quite the opposite effect?

 
The Budget and Control Board currently controls one-fifth of the General Fund budget and consists of six different divisions. One division is a general services branch that has the responsibility of facilities management for state-owned buildings. The Budget and Control board currently charges state agencies rent or property management services for debt free properties at a very expensive rate. That rate is $11.29 per square foot. Some agencies feel that this is a very inflated rate. As an example, The State Museum determined that it could provide its own property management for $8.88 per square foot. They could then put $250,000 away in a capital reserve fund and save the taxpayers $682,973. 

To read the entire article go here

With the exception of the short period of time that Thomas Ravenal served on the 5 person board the General Assembly had three votes it could rely on to completely control the budget. The current incumbent Converse Chellis was appointed by the good old boys in the Statehouse to replace Ravenal and he owes his loyalty and his job to them rather than the Governor and citizens of South Carolina. He must be replaced.

COMPTROLLER GENERAL- The incumbent Richard Eckstrom is      

doing a good job as a fiscal conservative and has been proactive in making SC finances  transparent by placing them on line. He has also been a supporter of the Governor and when Curt Loftis is elected the Governor would again have 3 votes.

             

superintendent OF EDUCATION- There are five candidates and all are qualified. I chose Kelly Payne because of her teaching experience and organizational skills. She is also a strong advocate for school choice and vouchers.

     

SECRETARY OF STATE- The incumbent Mark Hammond is running unopposed.

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE-The incumbent Hugh Weathers is

running unopposed.

ATTORNEY GENERAL- Alan Wilson is a strong conservative and I support him. 

     

                             NATIONAL RACES

U.S. SENATE- Jim DeMint is up for reelection and he has made a real impression on our country as a strong conservative. We need him up there for another 6 year term.

U.S. Congress Third District- This race has 6 candidates. The clear choice as a proven fiscal conservative in the SC House is Jeff Duncan.

Rex Rice has also served in the house but in our opinion he lacks the same conservative credentials.

U.S. CONGRESS SECOND DISTRICT-Joe Wilson is a strong conservative and has done a fine job for his constituents for many years. As a term limits guy I would have a problem in voting for him but I am not in his district. There is a strong conservative challenger by name of Phil Black and he deserves your consideration.

P.S. To remind- If you are 65 or over, or if you are going to be away either election day (May 25 for the School Bond Referendum and June 8 for the primaries) you can vote early at the County Registration and Elections Commission, 916 Vaucluse Road Monday through Friday between 9:00 am and 4:00 Pm. These elections are very important-Please vote!!!!

School Bond Vote Reminder

Absentee voting for the School Bond Referendum is now available at the Voter Registration Office. You can vote during the following hours: Monday-Friday from 9:00 to 4:00; Saturday from 9:00 to 12:00 and on Monday May 24 from 9:00 to 5:00. Voters must have a reason. The most common reasons are you are 65 or older, or out of town for vacation or employment.

If you cannot vote on Tuesday, May 25, please do so early.

Redstate Blog Comment on Palin/Haley

There is no question that the Sarah Palin endorsement has been very helpful for the Nikki Haley campaign. Go here to read the comment.

Sarah Palin Endorses Nikki Haley

BREAKING NEWS

Sarah Palin has endorsed Nikki Haley for Governor!.

Governor Palin and Representative Haley will appear together at a public event on Friday, May 14, at 5:30 pm at the State House in Columbia, SC. You are invited to attend. Hope you can make it.

In making her endorsement Governor Palin said:

“I’m very proud to add my voice to Jenny Sanford’s and others in endorsing Nikki Haley for governor of South Carolina.

Nikki is a strong pro-life, pro-Second Amendment fiscal conservative who served with distinction as a state lawmaker, a reformer who fought her own party to protect the interests of the taxpayer, a proud daughter of immigrants who worked night and day to achieve the American dream, a wife of an officer in the Army National Guard, a board member at her family’s Methodist church, and – most proudly – the loving mother of two beautiful kids.

It’s my honor to join Nikki today at a rally at 5:30 pm at the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina. If you are in the area, please come by and join us.

In the meantime, Nikki needs our support in her race. She’s the scrappy underdog in a tough competitive primary.

Let’s help this tough, proud daughter of South Carolina shake things up in the Palmetto state.”

Sarah Palin

 P.S. To remind- If you are 65 or over, or if you are going to be away either election day ( May 25 for the School Bond Referendum and June 8 for the primaries ) you can vote early at the County Registration and Elections Commission Monday through Friday between 9:00 am and 4:00 Pm.

Gubernatorial Poll on Radio Station WORD.

The South Carolina Primaries are less than a month away. I know that many  of you have been paying attention but in many cases are still trying to sort out the candidates. All of the races are important but the Governor’s race has the greatest potential to bring about real change to our broken system.

Most of you know that Jane Vaughters, Reggie Ebner, Dick Dewar, Steve Homoki and I have given our enthusiastic support to Nikki Haley. Many of you also have had an opportunity to hear and see Nikki and there is broad agreement that getting to know her is to love her. As a relative unknown Nikki has had to work very hard to get her message out. Her opponents have the career politician’s usual advantages of name recognition and large war chests accumulated in previous campaigns. As I have said before “incumbents always win.” We need a fresh new face to lead us into the future and Nikki will do a great job.

A major radio station in the upstate is currently conducting an election poll online. I urge you to go online and vote as the outcome will give her needed momentum in an area that is someone else’s “turf”: www.newsradioword.com/pages/6444079.php .This is a major Greenville talk radio station that carries a lot of weight in the upstate. I urge you to vote for Nikki Haley in the radio station WORD poll and in the primary election on Tuesday June 8.

I have learned that early voting at the Aiken County Elections Commission on Vaucluse Road has already begun. You can vote

Monday through Friday between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm,

City Council Update from Dick Dewar

SC EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION STATISTICS: City staff has consulted with the SCESC regarding City unemployment figures. They let us know for the City of Aiken unemployment percentages are:

January 2010 16.9%
February 2010 15.2%
March 2010 13.6%

The County of Aiken unemployment rate is 8.5%, down from 9.9% in February of this year. SCESC staff has let us know that city rates tend to be higher than county rates due to the higher concentration of people living in an urban setting. Their report is attached.

FARMER’S MARKET: Thursday Nights at the Farmers’ Market will begin Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. and end at 7:00 p.m. Our Farmers’ Market will be open every Thursday this summer until Thursday, August 26, 2010.

CENSUS PARTICIPATION: The nation mail-in response rate remains at 72%. Aiken County is 76% and the City of Aiken is now up to 79%. Our city citizen response rate has significantly improved since the 2000 Census.

COMMENDATIONS: John Powell, APRT Administrative Assistant has received high compliments from M.J. Nagy for assisting with a registration. Larry Morris has also received a complimentary letter from Carol M. Scott, Kalmia Landing Homeowners Association President, regarding pond repairs that were completed. Copies of these two letters are attached for your reference.

APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION FOR THE ASSIGNMENT OF DEVELOPER’S RIGHTS FOR THE WHITNEY POLO FIELD: At the City Council meeting of January 11, 2010, Council discussed the need for stormwater improvements at the Whitney Polo Field. The polo field and surrounding areas have a major drainage problem that needs correcting. At the meeting City Council asked us to meet with the Whitney Trustees concerning a possible protective property agreement in return for completing this work. The Mayor and staff met on several occasions with representatives from the Whitney Trustees. Attached is a protective property agreement which prohibits the Whitney Trust from conveying or selling the property for a 25 year period. In return for the protective property agreement, the City would renew the drainage system and construct a new pavilion. The polo fields are used for several different events, including polo, soccer tournaments, festivals, and with the pavilion additional events could be held at the site. When cleaning the ditch inside and outside the track, the City would also clear some of the underbrush and selected trees to assist the drainage and provide additional parking for these events. Funding for the stormwater work would come from the Stormwater Account and the Accommodations Tax Funds can pay for the pavilion.
Before the agreement is voted on by the Whitney Trustees, we want Council to review and possibly approve the agreement. We have asked City Solicitor Ben Moore, who drafted the agreement, and representatives from the Whitney Trustees to be available at tonight's meeting to answer any questions concerning this agreement. The principles developed within this agreement could be used with other major land owners to help preserve other open space properties within our community.

APPROVAL OF DEED OF DEDICATION FOR SANITARY SEWER LINES LOCATED IN VILLAGE AT WOODSIDE WELLNESS AND MEDICAL CENTER PHASE II: In the attached resolution, Silver Bluff Development Company LLC would like the City of Aiken to accept the sanitary sewer system located in the Village at Woodside Wellness and medical Center Phase II. Our Engineering staff has reviewed the sewer system and has found no deficiencies or items that need remediation. Staff recommends that Council accept this deed of dedication.

FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO SET THE MILLAGE RATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010-2011: Every year City Council adopts a budget for the following year and also a separate ordinance that establishes the millage rate to meet the budget needs. Two years ago the millage rate changed from 71 mills to 66 mills. This year by maintaining the millage rate at 66 mills you will have experienced 22 consecutive fiscal years without a millage rate increase. Over that period of time we have actually reduced the millage rate on 5 separate occasions from 120 mills to the current 66 mills or a 45% decrease. This is in spite of recent revenue losses during tough economic times and the loss of revenue from reduced telecommunications and vehicle taxes amounting to well over $1 million every year. We are happy to have been able to control raising taxes, and we contribute the success to the careful stewardship of these funds by Council and staff alike.

FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010-2011: For the past couple of years we have been facing difficult economic times within our community, state and nation. Although the City of Aiken has weathered most of the problems, we still find that our building permits, state funding, vehicle taxes and interest will be well short of our peak in 2007. Next fiscal year we project that we will continue to fall short of the revenues that we received two years ago by 55% for building permits, 35% for state revenue, 85% for interest earned on investments, and 15% on vehicle taxes. This amounts to a $150,000 loss for building permits, $240,000 reduction from the State, and a $380,000 loss in interest earned on investments. Altogether our revenues and expenditures will shrink by 1% from the budget two years ago.

Last year we cut or suspended several items that we would normally purchase and many of these are in this year's budget. We have increased our capital purchases by $500,000 in comparison to last year, primarily consisting of 13 new police vehicles, 25 new self-contained breathing apparatus for our Fire Department, new solid waste equipment, an aerial truck, and security cameras and equipment at our recreational sites. This year we have fully funded the vast majority of our Depreciation Accounts, except for Building Depreciation which amounts to approximately $150,000 per year.

The budget reflects a new Community Policing Grant for four positions, three of which were frozen last year. We still have 5 other positions in other departments that are frozen this year which will not be filled until the economy dramatically improves.

Even with the difficult economy we are seeing increases in our personal property tax from new homes and business, and we anticipate an increase of over $300,000 from what we received two years ago. Although building permits have been down the last two years, we are starting to see a rebound and expect a slight growth in new housing next year.

The budget includes a small payroll increase of 1% for all full and part-time employees. The increase would be provided only if we have a sufficient surplus from this year's budget. This past February we enacted a 5% increase for our employees to pay for health insurance, and we will continue to monitor this during the next fiscal year to determine if any additional increases are necessary to maintain our health costs.

Last year City Council asked us to add major security at our H. O. Weeks and Smith-Hazel recreational centers. We are finalizing the plans for the security equipment and have funded the equipment and two part-time employees for security at these locations during evenings and weekends.

We have not removed funding within the budget for any of the agencies that we have supported in the past. This includes the Library for $12,000, ADDA $60,000, Lower Savannah Council of Governments (Best Friend Express) $15,000, Economic Development Partnership $10,000, and from the Victims Services budget $9,000 for the Child Advocacy Center and $9,000 for the Cumbee Center.

We are also providing $6,000 from our Accommodations taxes for the Center for the Arts to help provide assistance for public restrooms at their facilities. The budget also includes funding to continue the facade grant program, road network studies for the Northside, Dougherty Road, and SC 19; and post retirement health benefits of $225,000.
From the Local Option Sales Tax we have included funding for several water and sewer rehabilitation projects, mobile bleachers, capping of the former landfill, reducing stormwater in Hitchcock Woods, Northside road studies, Citizens Park walking trail, and restrooms, street resurfacing, and Whiskey Road sidewalks.

We prepared the budget to try to meet the short term and long term goals that Council approved from our Horizons Retreat. Within the General Fund there are no tax increases for the 22nd year and no other increased fees are proposed.

APPROVAL OF DATE FOR MEETING WITH SMALL BUSINESSES: At our previous City Council meeting, several small business owners discussed with City Council possible ways for the City to assist and help them grow their businesses. City Manager Roger LeDuc recently met with Katy Lipscomb and Beth Nicholson as a follow up to this meeting concerning setting a date to meet with small businesses located in the City of Aiken. They would like to meet some time during the week from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. to begin discussing some of their concerns.
At the first meeting they would like to discuss the following three items:
1. Should City Council develop a Small Business Committee similar to the Arts Committee which would encompass different types and sizes of small businesses representing various areas of the city, or should an ad hoc group like the Equine Committee be developed. Council could begin by developing a task force or focus groups to begin meeting with the businesses utilizing a facilitator or designated chair person.
2. Could the City or other entity develop small business districts or area councils?
3. Are there ways that the City could assist businesses through possible facade grants, shop Aiken advertising, landscaping, or some other way.
At tonight's meeting we are asking City Council to bring their calendars so we could set a date to meet with small businesses within the City of Aiken.

SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE ZONING ORDINANCE REGARDING PORTABLE SIGNS IN THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS ZONE: For the last couple of years the City has been discussing with the Downtown Development Association the portable signs (sandwich boards) used by many of the businesses. The current Zoning Ordinance prohibits these types of signs on sidewalks since they are in the street right of way and therefore considered as off site signage. Last fall the Aiken Downtown Development Association (ADDA) proposed standards to regulate signs on the sidewalk in the downtown area. Since that time several meetings have been held between the ADDA and the Planning Commission concerning this proposal. At the April Planning Commission meeting they voted unanimously to recommend amendments to the Zoning Ordinance regarding portable signs in the Downtown Business area as proposed in the attached amended Zoning Ordinance. The only additional changes that they recommended were that the sign would be no taller than 4 feet, including the legs and no wider than 2 feet and not more than 6 square feet in total area. They also added an item 4 under the same section that stated all signs must be brought inside when the business is closed. Based on the recommendation from ADDA and the Planning Commission, we recommend that City Council consider approval of the attached amendments for temporary signs

ROAD ISSUES: Representative Tom Young has a weekly email update on issues of importance to Aiken residents. Please check his email at http://reptomyoung.com to sign up to receive his weekly update.

If you see a road problem (potholes, dead animals, etc), you can call the SCDOT at 641-7665 or Aiken County at 642-1532 to report the problem. If you do not get a prompt response, please let me know at TomYoung@schouse.gov or call me. In the past three months, I have received many different reports of problems and I have relayed those to the appropriate agencies. If you know that the road is maintained by the City, please call 642-7610. Please keep in mind that most of the main roads in the City are the responsibility of the State (Whiskey, Silver Bluff, Pine Log, South Boundary, Park, Laurens, etc

PS: Please visit http://reptomyoung.com for more posts, news, video updates and if you have Twitter please click here to start following Tom! He is doing an excellent job in constituent services.

Tom Young
649-0000 (o)
215-3631 (cell)

Republican Debate May 3 on PBS

Last night PBS held a debate between the Democrat candidates for Governor and tonight they will broadcast a debate with all 4 Republican candidates. Stay informed and vote in the primary election on Tuesday June 8. Follow the link below to get the details.

ETV Presents Two Primary Debates Featuring the Republican and Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates

The Right's Happy Warrior - WSJ.com

The following link will take you to a long but thoughtful article. It should be required reading for all conservatives.

The Weekend Interview with R. Emmett Tyrrell: The Right's Happy Warrior - WSJ.com